(40:1–43:28) Chapters 40–43 contain a clear message of encouragement to a righteous remnant who return from exile around 539 BC, almost 150 years after Isaiah. Chapter 40 begins the section by encouraging the Israelites that God will rescue them from the Babylonian exile. Because the hope of deliverance had grown dim for many, the prophet reassures them by answering two very important questions: (1) Is God willing to deliver the exiles? The author
Isaiah 40:1–43:28